


You and Me Together

by LunaMoth116



Series: Down to Earth [5]
Category: Mystery Science Theater 3000, The Shape of Water (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, M/M, Movie Night, Post-Series, Romance, Sign Language, Slice of Life, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 15:26:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15732216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaMoth116/pseuds/LunaMoth116
Summary: The Robinson-Nelson family watchesThe Shape of Water. They each take away something a little different from it. Minor spoilers for the movie.Title from…well, if you’ve seen the movie, you know.





	You and Me Together

**Author's Note:**

> _I love MST3K and_ The Shape of Water _(and Guillermo del Toro), so I suppose this was inevitable. :) My only regret is not being able to work in a reference to Droppy the Water Droplet. ;) As indicated, there are minor, vague spoilers for the movie, but if you have not seen it, stop reading and_ go watch it. _It is a thing of beauty (with some awesome fan works, to boot!), and this story will make a bit more sense in context. As for this series, you don’t need to have read any of the other stories to follow this one, unless you want to know how they all came to live together like this (and you do, don’t you? ^_~). Thank you for reading!_
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** _I don’t own anything you recognize. That may change once the blackmail letters go out. *g*_

_“The first thing I found was the idea of water being love, because love is like water, it has no shape. It can take the shape of whatever you pour it into…it just happens. And it is, like water, the most powerful and malleable element in the universe. And it goes through everything.”_

_~ Guillermo del Toro_

 

It was movie night once again at the Robinson-Nelson household, and this week was Gypsy’s choice. To everyone’s surprise, she’d picked a recent Best Picture winner, _The Shape of Water_. There had been some riffing to start, of course, but gradually that had died down to a dull roar as Joel, Mike, and even the ’bots found themselves swept up in the story, the visuals, even the romance. As the last few suspenseful minutes played out, all of them were quiet as they took in the movie’s final, heartbreaking moments. Joel’s hand gripped Mike’s where it was wrapped around his waist, and Mike squeezed back ever so slightly.

When the ending scene reached its climax, revealing one final twist, Joel gasped, much as Elisa did, and he noticed even Crow and Tom sitting up in surprise, though he couldn’t see their faces. As Giles’s voiceover began again, Joel relaxed against Mike as a surprising wave of emotion swept over him. Judging by how Mike was now twining his fingers through his, tightening his grasp, he’d felt it, too. Gypsy let out only a quiet _oh,_ while Cambot’s hover dropped a tiny bit. Tom and Crow stared, mesmerized, as the film’s title emerged from the watery background and the credits began to roll.

They all sat in silence for a minute or two as the credits played.

“Wow,” Joel said softly. “Not what I expected from a movie about a mute woman falling in love with a fish-man.” He blinked. “And there’s a sentence I never expected to say.”

Mike and Gypsy laughed, and Cambot chirped happily. Surprisingly, Tom and Crow seemed to be having a private discussion and didn’t respond. Joel moved to take out the movie, but Gypsy beat him to it, returning the DVD to its case and switching off the TV before she left the room, the other ’bots following her.

“Good choice, Gyps,” Joel said as she passed by, and smiled as she beamed at him.

Left alone for once, Joel and Mike simply lay together, enjoying some rare peace and quiet. As Joel let his mind wander, he found himself remembering something he hadn’t thought of in years.

He sat up, thinking for a few moments before tentatively, gradually forming his hands into several different letters and symbols, murmuring to himself as he thought of each one.

“J…O…E…L…eat…where…yes…”

“What are you doing?” Mike watched him with interest.

“Seeing what I remember.” Joel’s hand movements weren’t quite as fluid (so to speak) as Elisa’s in the movie, but they were much better than he’d expected.

Mike looked at him, surprised. “You know sign language?”

“A little bit. We had a couple deaf kids in my neighborhood growing up. A bunch of us learned enough sign language so that we could talk to them like everyone else. I still remember some of it.” Joel dusted off the cobwebs in his brain as he shaped his fingers into the words he could recall, focusing on their movements as he tried some signs he had seen in the movie and some he hadn’t. He didn’t realize until he looked up that Mike had been studying his hands just as intently.

“Do you want to try it?” he asked Mike.

Mike nodded. “Yeah. Can you do the last signs they did at the end?”

“Definitely.” Joel turned to face Mike and held his hands up between them. “You —” he pointed at Mike — “and me —” he brought his hand back around to point at himself — “together.” He made fists with both hands, brought them together, then rotated them in a circle.

Mike watched closely as Joel repeated the signs a few more times, then mimicked his motions, repeating the words quietly to himself. He was a bit clumsy to start, but after a few more tries he improved.

Joel nodded. “Good. Now try it…” He signed his next words, still speaking as he did so, quoting one of the last scenes in the movie. “Without me.”

Mike looked at him for a few moments, then nodded. Joel swallowed at the flash of emotion that sparked in Mike’s eye.

“You…and me…together.” Mike practiced the signs a few more times, his attempts gradually becoming quicker and more confident. His eyes met Joel’s as he signed the simple phrase one last time, and as his hands stopped moving, they gazed at each other for a long moment.

Time slowed for Joel, even as his heart began to race, as he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

_You and me together._

He liked the sound — and sight — of that.

Mike smiled. “I like that one much better than…” He repeated Joel’s sign from earlier, adding a new one. “Without you.”

Joel grinned. “Funny — so do I.” He took Mike’s hands as he leaned in for a kiss. Mike quickly responded, keeping the kiss light as they were both well aware they could be interrupted at any moment.

Surprisingly, they were not, and they dared to kiss a bit longer before reluctantly separating. Joel released Mike’s hands just long enough to sign — and say — one more phrase.

“I love you.”

Mike smiled as his hands mirrored Joel’s. “I love you, too.”

They shared another kiss, no further words (signed or spoken) necessary. Joel relaxed in his husband’s arms as they reclined on the couch.

“Can you teach me some more later?” Mike asked.

“Sure. Maybe we can find some new signs to learn together, too.”

“Yeah. I’d like that.”

There was silence for a few minutes.

“What was your favorite part of the movie?” Mike asked.

Joel considered. “Well, the whole rescue sequence was pretty great. And the scene before that where Elisa explains to Giles why she has to save the Asset. And the very last scene…” He trailed off, not needing to say more.

Mike nodded in agreement. “I liked the scenes where she first meets the Asset, and when she plays him music. But I _really_ liked the bit where she…” He stopped, lifting his head. “Hold on — do you hear that?”

Joel sat up a bit, frowning. “Hear what?” As he listened, a slightly distant background sound slowly became louder. It was familiar, yet unexpected, and neither of them knew how to react at first.

“Oh my God.” Joel sat bolt upright as he finally realized what was happening. “That’s —”

“Running water!” Mike stared. “You — you don’t think —”

Before Joel could answer, muffled voices echoed from the upstairs bathroom.

“Isn’t this great, Tom?” Crow could be heard yelling over the rushing water. “Can’t believe we never thought of this before!”

“I’ve never been so inspired by a movie!” Tom replied gleefully. “You got the ironing board?”

“Yeah! C’mon, Tom, you and me together! Surf’s up —!”

Joel and Mike didn’t need to hear more as they bolted up the stairs. Mike opened the bathroom door before Joel could stop him, sending a tidal wave of water cascading down the stairs, Crow riding it on the ironing board with Tom atop his shoulders.

For several hours afterward, the only sounds in the Robinson-Nelson household were scolding, dripping, and protesting. And a lot of mopping.


End file.
